Chapter 3

Good morning! I am reading the book of Hebrews but I think I am going to need a  bible upgrade soon heh =p

I was doing some background reading on Hebrews and only then found out that an unknown author specifically wrote this book for the Jews. It was a pleasant surprise as I have always thought it was penned by apostle Paul. 

Verses 3-6 talk about faithfulness. Jesus was regarded as faithful even more so than Moses when he led the Israelites out of Egypt and on the way to the Promised Land (although he was not able to set foot on Canaan himself). An analogy was given emphasising the greatness of Jesus compared to Moses. 

Hebrews 3:3-4

For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.

Verses 7-15 instruct the Jews to be faithful until the end, also warning them that if they rebel, they will never be able to enter His Kingdom. The author quoted Psalms 95:7-11 and the consequence of being stubborn and disobedient was this: 

Hebrews 3:11 

So I swore in My wrath,‘They shall not enter My rest.'

The author flashbacked during the time of Moses when they travelled in the wilderness for forty years before they reached the Promised Land (verses 16-19).

I will never forget one Friday evening fellowship with the Leeds Chinese Church almost 5 years ago. Wee Leon was our speaker for the night and his message spoke to me in volumes. (This man is blessed with the gift of speech, not to mention, really smart. He's a Singaporean plastic surgeon by the way!). He spoke about the three stages of Christian living and he categorised each as Egypt, Wilderness and Promised Land. We closed our eyes to assess our faith and consider what stage we were at, then he called out each stage and asked us to raise our hands to whichever applies to us (still with eyes closed). I responded to Wilderness. How true was that for me? I could never be more honest to myself and to God during the time.

Just fyi, Egypt represents the time before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Personal Lord and Saviour, Wilderness symbolises the trying period of our Christian lives and Promised Land signifies victorious living in Christ.

As mentioned in Hebrews 3:16 onwards, God freed them from slavery in Egypt through Moses as their leader but the people angered the Lord which caused them to suffer for forty years. Verse 17b says,"... Was it not those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?" So yes, it is not enough to just acquire the name CHRISTIAN, but to fully understand the meaning of it and live it.

Simple message. We must remain faithful as we wait for His Second Coming. This life is never going to be easy as we are considered a fallen nation and the enemy is strong but we have the Holy Spirit to help us fight the sins of this world and be victorious. So then all of us who are called must leave the wilderness and AIM TO REACH THE PROMISED LAND.